Conventional tubular fishing rods are constructed of various materials in a generally conically shaped gradually tapering tube aligned along a single, straight axis. A conventional tubular fishing rod generally has circular cross-sections of varying diameters concentric to the axis extending the full length of the fishing rod.
Typically, conventional tubular rods are manufactured by assembling an appropriate, sized material around a straight, steel mandrel and then baking the assembly in an oven until the material is cured to a rigid state. The mandrel is then removed from the rod, and the rod is then finished by conventional means.
Known tubular fishing rods are restricted in their design by the shape of the mandrel that can be formed and then later removed from the cured blank. Therefore, rods manufactured by mandrel wrapping generally have a single cross-sectional shape, which is usually circular.
Patents U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,259 and GB 1,172,665 teach rods with non-circular cross-sections. However, the rods disclosed in patents U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,259 and GB 1,172,665 are limited in their shape by the mandrel-wound process or a flattened steel tubing process. The rods of U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,259 and GB 1,172,665 also require multiple rod sections to accomplish substantial changes in cross-sectional shape. Multiple sections serve to decrease the stability, strength, and flexibility of the fishing rod.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,259 discloses a fishing rod that requires three sections to achieve both an elliptic or approximately elliptic cross-section and a round cross-section in the same rod. The first section is elliptic or approximately elliptic, the tip of the second section is round or approximately round, and the third section acts to connect the first and second sections by transitioning from an elliptic or approximately elliptic cross-section, to a round or approximately round cross-section.
GB 1,172,665 discloses a fishing rod constructed of tubular steel. Various cross-section shapes are achieved by flattening the tubular steel. Multiple rod sections must be constructed and then connected to achieve more than one cross-sectional shape along the axis of the fishing rod.
Conventional tubular fishing rods are often finished by covering selected areas of the rod with high-friction coatings or materials to enhance hand gripping. Conventional fishing rod handles are typically coated in selected areas with the same or similar friction coatings to enhance hand gripping. Selectively covering conventional rods with high-friction coatings or material presents disadvantages. Firstly, the manufacturing cost of the rod is increased due to the cost of high-friction coatings or materials and the labor costs of applying these substances. Secondly, the high-friction coatings or materials adds weight to a conventional fishing rod.
Rod blanks manufactured by conventional mandrel wrapping are restricted in their design to a single axis of alignment. The single axis of alignment creates a straight rod which is necessary to facilitate removal of the mandrel from the cured rod blank.
Rods manufactured by conventional mandrel wrapping are restricted in their design to be hollow. Therefore, conventional rods are typically hollow without internal ribs.
Conventional fishing rod handles are typically manufactured separately from conventional rods and are made in a variety of forms and materials. The handles are fixed in axial alignment to the rod to provide both a means for attaching the reel to the rod and a means for fishermen to grip the rod. Handle shapes are generally straight or bent with various circular or non-circular axial cross-sectional profiles.
It is common to glue or otherwise fix to conventional tubular fishing rods any of a variety of handles. Often, conventional rods and their attached handles are not dimensionally matched. Consequently, adaptors are commonly fixed between conventional fishing rods and the handle to both compensate for unmatched diameters and to add strength and stiffness to the fishing rods in the handle area. The addition of a fishing rod handle adds weight and substantial processing cost to the rod.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,682 discloses a one-piece fishing rod handle. The one-piece handle is molded with preformed rod components such as a reel seat and a trigger portion. However, the handle taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,682 must have a body with a hole axially extending therethrough to fixably receive a fishing rod blank. The one-piece handle has the disadvantage of requiring a hole be formed in the handle body and that the rod be inserted into the hole or that the handle be formed around the rod. This results in increased time to assemble the finished fishing rod which translates into low productivity and increased labor costs. Additionally, quality control issues, such as misalignment of the handle and rod or defective attachment of the handle to the rod, exist. Furthermore, the addition of the handle taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,682 adds weight to the rod and processing cost to the rod.
There is a need for a unitary fishing rod with integral features that avoids the aforementioned shortcomings of rods manufactured by conventional mandrel wrapping methods.